Archive for the category “Quadrupel”

This “Quadrupel ale brewed with flame raisins, candi sugar and oranges” pours a date-like dark brown with a small, off-white head. The richly inviting nose offers classic Belgian Quad aromas of raisins, dark fruits, nuts and a hint of maple, but the first swallow beckoned some unexpected flavors, especially on the sharp and seltzer-y finish. It’s no wonder the bottle suggests pairing Paris of the West with Roquefort cheese, and even as the brew warmed, it became apparent that we probably needed food to fully bring out the flavors. That seltzer aftertaste is likely due to the unusual addition of oranges, as subsequent sips brought forth fruitcake-like flavors of citrus peel and dried fruits and nuts. Not fully successful but consistently interesting, and I love the willingness of Almanac to push the envelope on familiar beer styles.

This quadrupel from Belgian brewers The Perfect Crime pours a bright copper with a vaporous white head. The nose is similar to booze-soaked fruitcake, with raisins, figs, and hard alcohol most prominent, along with red apples and cooked cherries. Hollow Point is more nuanced on the tongue, offering black walnuts, wood, raisins, and a little caramel, with a prolonged nutty bitterness and a slight alcohol burn coming to dominate the aftertaste. Its body is exceptionally light for the style, and I like the lack of overpowering sweetness here, as Hollow Point emphasizes nuttiness and hoppiness over dark fruit flavors.

This quadrupel from Massachusetts-based Pretty Things pours an opaque, blackish-brown with a slight hickory head. Baby Tree has a deep, rich nose of raisins, plums, and toffee, very promising for a quad, and offers many of the same delicious qualities on the tongue. The first flavor impression is raisins and plums, followed by a nutty toffee finish that lingers pleasurably, and balanced out by an influx of hops on the finish. It has a lot of the prototypical fruitcake and dark fruit tastes and the heavy mouthfeel of a classic quad, but it’s measured by an abundant sweetness (especially butterscotch) and American-ized with a more pronounced hop character.

His Notes:

This legit Belgian abbey beer pours slate brown with creamy, swirling highlights and a fizzy, cola-colored head. It offers up a beautiful nose of freshly pulled caramel and taffy, wood, and cooked cherries, but there are subtle changes with each new sniff. Trappistes Rochefort 10 is sweet and dusky on the palette, with more cooked berries, some toffee, and additional warm and chewy candies. There are licorice and raisin flavors as well, along with a certain Belgian barnyard quality. The texture and flavor profile are very desert-like, but unlike an imposing desert wine or port, this brilliant and highly drinkable beer hides its huge alcohol content with grace.

His Notes:

Sierra Nevada’s take on the strong Belgian Quadrupel pours a dark toffee brown-black with a full, sand-colored head. The nose is a very subtle of mix of caramel, wood and dark fruits, especially apples, plums, and dates. Ovila Quad offers a warm and rich mixture of dried fruit, toffee, and dry bitterness on the palette, with a warm hard alcohol aftertaste. It has a flavor profile similar to that of a smoky scotch or a mild brandy, but with enough hops, chewy grains, and candied Belgian yeast to remain true to its beer roots. This brew is simply brilliant – a true strong Belgian Quad that still retains those wonderfully restrained Sierra Nevada flavors.

His Notes:

This highly regarded concept beer from Cooperstown-based brewery Ommegang pours a reddish-brown with a sandy brown head. The smell is of wood, berries, cherries, and wild yeast, and indeed it’s strong and tangy on the tongue, barely bothering to hide its hefty alcohol content. Sour cherry flavors seep in as the alcohol wallop fades, moving the taste from the brutish darkness of a strong Belgian quad into a mild dessert wine with a sour ale kick. The skeleton of wood barrels is present throughout, as is the hint of cherries and wild yeast. Three Philosophers is a little too strong to favorably complement the fruit flavors, and much like a good dessert wine, a little bit of it goes a long way.